Joe Bauserman's appearance as second-team quarterback during the Big Ten Network's
feed of Ohio State's practice this week was hardly shocking. But it reinforced the idea that even
being the top-rated high school recruit in the country, as incoming freshman Terrelle Pryor was,
won't result in automatically leapfrogging experienced players on coach Jim Tressel's depth
chart.

Some insiders think that it's possible, even likely, that Bauserman will be the backup -- i.e.,
the guy who comes in if starter Todd Boeckman gets hurt --

for all or most of the season, and that Pryor will be used mostly in specific situations.

It helped Bauserman that he played well enough in the spring to pull even with and possibly pass
Antonio Henton, who subsequently transferred to Georgia Southern. Comments on Bauserman's play from
the coaches in recent months have been positive.

The Crew's recent struggles probably have taken some of the buzz away from its
status as the second-best team in Major League Soccer, but a softer schedule offers the Crew a
decent chance of winning the Eastern Conference title.

Not only did the Crew land forward Pat Noonan this week -- in a trade with first-place New
England, no less -- but its remaining games appear to be easier than the Revolution's.

The Crew has 11 games to play. Because of the Revolution's participation in the U.S. Open Cup
and the new CONCACAF Champions League, New England will play a minimum 16 games and as many as
22.

The Revolution plays in a U.S. Open Cup semifinal next week, and a win puts it in the final. It
also has a two-game series in the Champions preliminary round. If New England wins the series, it
advances to group play, in which it must play five games.

Under those circumstances, it would have made sense for the Revolution to keep Noonan, if the
sides had been on better terms. He was an All-Star there before he left for the Norwegian Premier
League in a salary dispute.

Insiders say Noonan has already targeted the Crew's two games with the Revolution.

South Florida coach Jim Leavitt recently took a couple of verbal jabs at
Michigan's Rich Rodriguez, all in response to a question about new West Virginia coach Bill
Stewart.

"(Stewart has) a great reputation because he is who he is," Leavitt said. "He's a down-to-earth,
good person, loves the game. The people who wonder on how he'll be (compared) with Rich are
nuts.

"This guy's probably better than Rodriguez. I'm worried about him. We beat Rodriguez. We haven't
gotten this guy. This guy worries me. I wish Rich would have stayed. But he didn't, so we'll have
to go play Michigan now."

Devoe Torrence, a former Ohio State football recruit whose scholarship offer was
pulled in January after he was charged with the rape of a 12-year-old girl, has landed on Akron's
roster.

Charges against Torrence were dropped last month when a Stark County judge ruled that there was
not enough evidence to convict.

Torrence, 6 feet 1, 210 pounds, who played his senior season at Massillon Washington after
transferring from Canton South, is listed on the Akron roster as a running back. His brother,
Devon, is a receiver at Ohio State.

Local attorney/sports agent Bret Adams is in the hospital again after another
motorcycle accident. He has five ribs with compression fractures and a collapsed lung, and is
permitting only his wife for visitation.

In a text message Adams, who suffered a fractured skull, broken ribs, a broken collar bone and a
severe brain bruise in a motorcycle accident in 2005, said he is "selling the bike this time."

If you remember the amazing adjectives the Cincinnati Bengals used on Coastal
Carolina receiver Jerome Simpson when they seemed to reach up a few rounds to pick him in the
second round -- "spectacular" and "acrobatic" -- skeptics probably knew there had to be some rough
spots.

They finally got one peek, courtesy of Chick Ludwig's Bengals blog for the
Dayton Daily News. Ludwig said that Simpson slowed down after making a nice
catch and got stripped of the ball by strong safety Dexter Jackson, which incited a strong response
from receivers coach Mike Shappard.

"You did that at Coastal!" Sheppard screamed. "You don't do that here!"

Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker made it clear the other day he isn't satisfied
with the team he was given when he took the job last winter.

"I have never wanted to win more than I do right here, and I will," he said. "But this is
(former general manager) Wayne Krivsky's team, not (current GM) Walt Jocketty's and not mine. I
just hope there is enough out there after the season that we can get to help us."

Just as Pryor is the focus of media attention at Ohio State practices, Henton is
the guy everybody is watching at Georgia Southern.

Redshirt freshman Lee Chapple opened camp as the starting quarterback, a role he earned in the
spring, and everybody seems to be wondering if and when Henton will supplant him.

Despite that, Henton and Chapple have become fast friends.

"We're roommates," Henton told the
Macon Telegraph. "He's a great guy. We understand it's all about
competition."

Rafael Betancourt has another year on his contract, so Cleveland Indians officials
are hoping that his bad season is simply an aberration.

As it is, he has been the focus of the problems in the bullpen.

The right-hander probably was the best right-handed setup man in the American League last year,
and that success might be at the root of some his problems now: The Indians think that the league
has caught up with his fastball and he needs to throw more breaking balls.

The problem is, it's often hard to get a successful pitcher to move away from a formula that
used to work.

Betancourt's health is fine, so the worry for team officials isn't his arm but whether he will
be able and willing to make the adjustments necessary to become successful again.

Even though Destroyers quarterback Matt Nagy has a 30-day opt-out clause in his
contract if there was a coaching change, he plans to stay with new coach Pat Sperduto.

"Yeah, I'm playing," he said. "With this offense, there's no way I'm leaving."

Nagy's term as an intern assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles ends next week.

Maybe the city's mild climate has softened up Blue Jackets forward Jason Chimera.
The Edmonton native was back in his hometown last week for a celebrity golf tournament, and he was
one of the players who complained about the cold.

"I'm not having fun," Chimera told the
Edmonton Journal.

But we should probably cut him some slack; even Fernando Pisani, who plays for the Edmonton
Oilers, complained.